Armstrong gets extra time to be 'part of the solution'

Feb. 6, 2013
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Lance Armstrong, competing last October in Ellicott City, Md., with other cancer survivors in a cycling fundraising event, apparently has decided to meet the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's Wednesday to cooperate with its ongoing probe into doping in the sport. / Steve Ruark, AP

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has granted disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong two more weeks to cooperate with its probe and be "part of the solution" to clean up doping in his sport.

In a statement Wednesday evening, USADA said:

"We have been in communication with Mr. Armstrong and his representatives and we understand that he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up the sport of cycling.

"We have agreed to his request for an additional two weeks to work on details to hopefully allow for this to happen."

Cooperating with the probe would have to include agreeing to testify under oath to USADA investigators.

Armstrong and his advisers had been negotiating through the day to reach some sort of deal with USADA, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the talks were supposed to remain confidential.

If the deal goes through and Armstrong does indeed cooperate fully with the USADA investigation, he might have a chance to have his lifetime ban reduced to eight years. That would mean he could compete in sanctioned events such as triathlons and marathons as he neared his 50th birthday.

But he would first have to testify honestly and at length about his use of performance-enhancing drugs and about what he knows about every facet of doping in cycling.

As part of its statement, USADA said: "USADA is responsible for the testing and results management process for athletes in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement, and is equally dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives and educational programs."

Since his January televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong had said he could not meet USADA's deadline but would cooperate with a hypothetical "truth and reconciliation" commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the international cycling federation.

However, he appears to have changed his mind and been swayed to come clean to USADA after hearing reports, first broken by ABC News, that he might be facing criminal prosecution, the person said.